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HOUSTON - NASA will host a media teleconference with Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale at approximately 2:30 p.m. CST, Tuesday, Dec. 11, to discuss the status of shuttle Atlantis' launch on the upcoming STS-122 mission.

The teleconference will follow a meeting chaired by Hale that will lay out options to better understand recurring problems with the low-level engine cutoff, or ECO, sensor system in the shuttle and its external fuel tank. Shuttle managers postponed Atlantis' planned launches on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9 because of false readings from the sensor system that monitors the liquid hydrogen section of the tank. The system is one of several that protects the shuttle's main engines by triggering their shut down if fuel runs unexpectedly low.

NASA has formed a troubleshooting team to develop a forward plan of action to address the problem. The team will present its findings and recommendations to the Space Shuttle Program Tuesday morning.

To participate in the teleconference, reporters must R.S.V.P. by 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to NASA's Johnson Space Center newsroom at 281-483-5111.